Bombay High Court on Friday, instructed the Maharashtra government to submit its response after taking note of news reports that patients suffering from food poisoning in Buldhana district had to be treated on the streets outside a hospital due to a shortage of beds. Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor sought the government’s stance on the matter.
The judges addressed the issue during a pending suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning deaths at two government hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in September-October last year. Advocate Mohit Khanna, acting as the amicus curiae, presented news reports on Thursday depicting patients lying on the ground and receiving intravenous treatment from bottles suspended from ropes tied to trees.
Government pleader Priyabhushan Kakade disclosed that preliminary reports suggest that on February 20, over 200 individuals fell sick in Somthana village, Lonar tehsil, possibly due to consuming prasad or a similar substance during a temple event. Kakade mentioned the presence of three rural hospitals and stated that 150 patients were promptly transported to the 30-bed hospital in Bibi.”There was a sudden influx. We could not treat them inside. So we made arrangements outside the hospital premises.
All patients were discharged the next morning,” Kakade explained, emphasizing that despite having medicine and staff, the hospital’s limited capacity necessitated outdoor treatment. When asked why patients weren’t taken to the district hospital, Kakade highlighted its considerable distance of nearly 100km, prompting them to commence treatment locally. The judges expressed concern about patients with deteriorating conditions, to which Kakade assured that they would have been transferred if needed, but due to the hospital’s proximity (9km), all patients arrived there.
The judges instructed Kakade to file an affidavit on behalf of the appropriate authority and scheduled the next hearing for March 13. In reference to a recent Delhi High Court judgment on improving hospital infrastructure, advocate Khanna cited it, prompting discussion on the feasibility of comparing Delhi with Mumbai in terms of population. Nonetheless, the judges requested him to submit the judgment for consideration.